Page 38 of Only One Bed: Anthology Vol. 1
“Say thank you.”
“Excuse me?” Shazza squinted at Anvita’s grinning face.
“It’s okay to accept a compliment.”
Shazza coughed. “Yeah, okay. Thanks. Here’s the bread.” She placed it on a cheap chopping board that she’d purchased today and cut a couple of slices.
“This all smells incredible.”
Shazza blew out a little laugh from the side of her mouth. “Whatever. The lamb is burnt, and everything else was made by someone else. I hardly did anything at all.”
“Take a compliment.” Anvita leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I’m impressed by the effort.” The skitter of her breath across Shazza’s skin brought back many feelings from her teen years. Ones she assumed had been a phase, or simply just buried under the reality of marriage, two children, and running a small business.
“Eat. That’s all the thanks I need.” She cut up her own lamb into strips and laid them onto a slice of bread. Once topped with a bit of salad, and another slice of bread, she had a sandwich for ease of eating.
Every motion helped cover up the fragile beginnings of her feelings for Anvita. She craved the normalcy of simply eating, side by side, together, but not, like together, together. The burnt side of the lamb crunched a little in her mouth. Not enough to ruin the meal, just enough to add texture to the mouth-watering flavours. Just as she couldn’t ruin the niceness of right now. She stuffed more food into her mouth to stop her blurting out something awkward.
“This is delicious.”
Shazza swallowed, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Yeah. I must be hungry because it tastes a lot better than I thought it would.”
“Or you are a good cook and you should—”
“—take a compliment. Fine. It’s lovely.” Shazza took another bite and turned her face towards the last of the sunset. Orange streaks had settled into a warm glow as the sunset filtered through the bush. They ate together in silence with only birdsong interrupting their peace. It was so lovely to enjoy a meal where she didn’t have to badger anyone into using their manners.
“Oh, look!” Anvita pointed towards the little BBQ. A possum sat in the shadows only a few steps away from the frying pan.
“Shoo.” Shazza rushed over to the little creature, waving her arms. “It’s still too hot, silly animal. You’ll get burnt paws.” She picked up the frying pan by the handle and suddenly realised she hadn’t planned for after the meal. The washing up would have to be done some other time, not tonight with nothing to clean anything with. She only had enough water for drinking. Stupid mistake.
“What’s the matter?”
“I forgot to get cleaning stuff.” Shazza paused. “Never mind. Once the pan is cool enough, I’ll chuck it in the cab of the ute in a plastic bag and clean it when I get home. All the plates and shit can go in there too.”
“Shall we give the leftover food to the possum?”
Shazza shook her head. “The salad is probably fine to chuck into the bush for the animals, but human food isn’t great for them. We should lock it inside the ute, so they don’t scavenge it.”
“That makes sense.” Anvita nodded then didn’t speak again until she’d finished her meal, having eaten it with a knife and fork. Neatly, unlike Shazza’s bush sandwich that she wolfed down using her fingers. The contrast between them reminded her of her place in Anvita’s life. Shazza might want a soothing hug to turn into something more, but anything between them would be temporary. Maybe she’d be okay with that. Sex was just sex—it didn’t have to mean more.
“Here. Give me those.” She held out her hand and took the dirty plate and cutlery from Anvita and dumped them into the frying pan. It was cool enough now to be wrapped up and left in the cab of the ute, away from any animals hunting for an easy meal, and wouldn’t add too much of a smell to the already blended scents of her ute. It only took a few minutes to clean everything up and then with nothing else to keep her occupied, Shazza scratched her forehead.
“When you are done, come up here and watch the sky with me.” Anvita’s proposal would have to do. She’d done as much as she could to pass the time, and now the sun had set. She climbed up onto the ute, and slipped off her boots, leaving them neatly in the corner of the ute. Anvita patted the yoga mat beside her and Shazza sat down.
“If you are hoping I’ll be able to tell you about the stars and whatnot, you’re out of luck.”
“Shazza. You don’t have to do everything. I’m fine.”
“Really?”
Anvita leaned closer, her shoulder brushing against Shazza’s with a crackle in the air. “Really.”
“Good.” Shazza cleared her throat after the word came out all growly and rough.
“There is one thing, though.”
“Yes?”
“Can I kiss you?” Anvita’s question sent a rush of heat across Shazza’s skin. Before she could second-guess herself and think too hard, she reached over and kissed Anvita first.
